Essays on the puerperal fever and other diseases peculiar to women : Selected from the writings of British authors previous to the close of the eighteenth century / Ed. by Fleetwood Churchill.
- Fleetwood Churchill
- Date:
- 1849
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Essays on the puerperal fever and other diseases peculiar to women : Selected from the writings of British authors previous to the close of the eighteenth century / Ed. by Fleetwood Churchill. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.
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![the II.-pital, dated February 1, L820. I regret/' he says, to have the unpleasant task of laying before the Board, the account of an epidemic fever which prevailed in this hospital during the latter part of Last and beginning of the present year. Before 1 enter into particulars, it may not be amiss to give a genera] abstract for the last live years. During the years 1815-16-17 the hospital was healthy; of nearly 10,000 women admitted, sixty-six died, or one in L51. The year L818 was not so favorable: of 3,.) 19 admitted, fifty-six died,' or one in sixty-two. This exeess of mortality, however, arose from patients coming in ill of typhus fever (which was that year so prevalent through the city), many of whom sunk immediately after delivery. Early in the last year (1811)) the puerperal fever made its appearance, but was confined to a lew wards and by a thorough whitewashing and cleansing it was arrested in its progress, and Hie hospital restored to its former healthy state. The epidemic, which is the immediate object of this state- ment, commenced in a most insidious way,so as to excite but little alarm'. During the months of Juno, July, and August last we continued healthy, and without a single case of fever. On the 8th of September, however, two women were attacked, and on the foliowing day, one ; on the 20th, one; on the 28th, one;and on the 4th of October, one : all in different wards. No new ease occurring for several days after this Last attack, I was in hopes that I should be relieved from all anxiety; but on the L5tb of October I was much alarmed on finding seven women complaining, and from this time until the begin- ning of December, there was scarce a day that two or more ^erc not attacked. Early in December, with the concurrence of several me- dical governors, 1 sent notices of the unhealthy state of the hospital through the city, in order to prevent those from coming in who COUld provide themselves with accommodation at home1, t() whom, at the Bame time, 1 offered our gratuitous attendance ;,t their residences. This had the effect of lessening our num- bers ' hut many wretched creatures still continued to present themselves for admission at our gates, saying that they would rather inn the risk of fever in the hospital, where they would have food and attendance, t linn remain at home destitute of both.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21030170_0030.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
